Model Railroading > Secretown Trestle Diorama for the Dutch Flat Museum

My contribution the the 150th Golden Spike anniversary-  a diorama for the Museum here in Dutch Flat.  The diorama depicts the Secretown trestle everyone remembers from this famous photo.  The photo is often mistaken as showing construction of the trestle.  It's not.  In the photo the trestle is being buried in a fill, about 15yrs after it was built.  
So I divided the scene in 3 sections- Just after completion 1865/  Being buried in the late 1870's/  and 1985 double tracked & I-80 in the foreground. (Why 1985?--  I get to use Tunnel Motors). 
I built what you see here, now it's off to be "scenic-ed"-  I've farmed this phase out.   Meanwhile I'll complete the 2 small structures and the trains.
SR

Fun trivia;  Many of the trestle bents were built aboard the Good Boat MARIKA PAIGE anchored in Fry's Cove Santa Cruz Island.  I'm fairly sure it represents the whole of all model RRing done on the Channel Islands.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/10/19 15:30 by BoilingMan.

---

---

---

.

---

Outstanding work.Extra points for the WP boxcar :-))
Regards,DK

He-he... yes, the boxcar was a deliberate choice. There will also be the rear of a SuperLiner sleeper on the #2 Track in Phase III colors (the scheme when I hired out).
At the far end will be an 1860’s 4-4-0 and a car or two. (I’d wanted the Antelope as a historic nod, but it’ll probably be the Jupiter. Oh, well)
SR

Nice work! Hopefully enough of the Superliner will be included to allow for a junior-sized SR waving from the dutch door. Sorta like signing a painting.

EO

Ah! Like that British artist that always hid a rodent in his railway paintings..
Hmmmmm
SR

Excellent model. Historical question for anybody who knows. Was the original bridge going over a watercourse?  I would assume not as they filled it in. Also, if you dug down, could you find the original bents?

There is a watercourse, but it’s nothing major, and probably just seasonal. It passed under the far east end of the trestle- if you look closely at the old photo you can see that the structure’s construction changes. I think the bents are a bit further apart to span the creek. I’ve modeled the western 2/3erds of the trestle, and then divided that in three. (In N scale the entire would be about 7ft long- the Museum gave me 4ft of real estate, so...)

Yes, it’s still in the fill. It was buried in place.

The trestle, now the fill, is right up against today’s I-80. Anyone visiting our museum has, or is about to, drive right by it- oblivious to it. My intention in building this diorama is to turn that around. To up awareness of this historic spot.
SR

Nice three phase diorama. Explanation keeps reactions sensible.

Don Allender

Cool diorama 
wonder how much it settled in 150 years?